A racing helmet worn by one of Canada’s highest-profile IndyCar racers has been stolen from a museum in Vancouver.
The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame says the theft happened on Wednesday, when staff noticed a helmet worn by Greg Moore was taken from a mannequin on display beside his IndyCar.
Moore, from Maple Ridge, B.C., was a rising star on the IndyCar circuit in the late 1990s and accumulated five wins and 17 podium finishes before he was killed in a race in California in 1999 at age 24.
The stolen helmet was worn by Moore at the Rio 400 in Brazil during one of his five career IndyCar wins.
The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame says the helmet was on permanent loan from the Moore family and is one of the museum’s most iconic motorsport collection items.
The museum described the suspect as a man wearing a black hat, black pants, blue shirt, grey jacket and white shoes, and carrying a burgundy sports bag.
It’s urging the public to help identify the man and recover the helmet, which carries significant monetary and emotional value.
“This helmet isn’t just a valuable artifact, it’s a deeply personal and irreplaceable piece of Canadian sports history,” said B.C. Sports Hall of Fame curator Jason Beck in a statement.
The helmet worn by B.C. racing legend Greg Moore has been stolen from the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame. Moore’s life was tragically cut short at age 24, when he was killed during a race in 1999. CBC’s Stephen Quinn spoke with Jason Beck, the curator at the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, who is calling on the public to help bring the helmet back.
He says the museum is “devastated” by the theft.
In the same statement, Ric Moore, Greg’s father, says the helmet represented what his son stood for.
“That helmet is a part of Greg that we’ll never get back,” he says. “It’s not just racing gear, it’s a symbol of who he was, the joy he brought to people, and the dreams he chased.”
